Survival of the Fittest
by jennamarie
Summary: A new case threatens to tear Tsuzuki and Hisoka apart. When Tsuzuki meets a young woman who is a dead ringer for his long dead sister, he is shaken, but when she becomes involved in their new case, it could mean the end of the shinigami's partnership.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The case was supposed to be a simple one.

Tsuzuki frowned down at his tea and pastries. He was sitting alone in a cosy little coffee shop while his partner rested back in their hotel room a block away. Hisoka was suffering from a headache brought on by the over use of his empathic talent and Tsuzuki had left so that he could rest in quiet, and hopefully get some sleep.

They had been sent back to Nagasaki to find the soul of one Totohome Nitsku, who had not arrived for judgement after his death, but what was supposed to be a simple retrieval had become the equivalent of looking for a needle in a haystack.

Unfortunately, it was only through Hisoka's empathic sense that they were even able to detect the faintest trace of their missing soul, and when those traces led them to a busy downtown hospital, the empath had overloaded quickly. It seemed that was nearly impossible to open yourself to one emotion while blocking out all the others, but Hisoka had tried.

Still frowning, Tsuzuki popped another sweet into his mouth. So far this case had left him feeling rather useless. Until they found what they were dealing with, there was little he could do.

Though rather lost in his thoughts, Tsuzuki was surprised when his attention was caught by a young woman heading towards the counter. He gazed at her, wondering what about her had drawn his attention.

She was petit and slender, straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail hung down nearly to her waist. The beige suit jacket and skirt she was wearing looked expensive, at least from the back, and there was something about the way she moved…

The clerk handed her a coffee and took her money, and the young woman turned.

Tsuzuki quickly averted his eyes as he realized he'd been staring at her. He heard her footsteps as she passed by his table and he lowered his eyes to his pastries. He got the impression of her sitting down a few tables away from him.

He took a sip of his tea, looked up… and froze.

She sat facing him. The same eyes, a brown so dark they were almost black, nearly indistinguishable from the pupils. The same pert nose, the same bow-shaped mouth. Her delicate hands were the same as he remembered, with long slender fingers, short but well kept nails. Her skin pale, like light cream.

She cocked her head and raised a curious brow at him; even her expressions were familiar.

Tsuzuki blushed as he realized that was staring again.

"I'm sorry," the young woman smiled at him tentatively, "have we met?"

Tsuzuki gaped like a fish, even her voice was exactly the same. "Could I ask what your name is?"

"I'm Murata Rika."

Tsuzuki swallowed heavily. "No, I don't think we've ever met. Please excuse me."

Tea and pastries forgotten, Tsuzuki fled the small café.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hisoka lay on the uncomfortable hotel bed; absolutely still, breathing steadily, and hoping for sleep to overtake him and ease the pounding in his head.

He could feel the faint presences in the rooms around him; the occasional passer-by in the hallway. He was glad that Tsuzuki had stepped out as each noise, each shift in the emotional atmosphere, was a spike in his brain.

So he was more than a little surprised when he heard the door to the room open and slam shut. He knew it was Tsuzuki, but the man had his shields up so strongly that Hisoka hadn't even felt his approach.

Hisoka waited for the sound of Tsuzuki's footsteps coming into the room, but there was no noise. After five minutes, Hisoka cracked an eye open and turned his head slightly.

Tsuzuki was standing at the entrance of the room, leaning against the door, his intense gaze locked on the floor in front of him.

Even without being able to sense his partner, Hisoka could see his distress. "Tsuzuki? What's wrong?"

Tsuzuki looked up at the softly spoken question. "Oh, sorry." Pulling himself away from the door, he headed to the bed opposite Hisoka's. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't." Gritting his teeth, Hisoka raised himself up on his elbows. "I wasn't asleep. So what are you so upset about?"

Tsuzuki shrugged. "It's nothing, I just saw someone I thought I knew."

Hisoka regarded his partner closely as Tsuzuki sat on the edge of his med. He didn't know who Tsuzuki could have run into that could have caused him such distress, unless it had been Muraki, but Tsuzuki didn't seem to be afraid, just upset. Tsuzuki shot him a pleading look, and with a sigh, he let the matter drop.

Slowly lowering his head back to the pillow, Hisoka let his eyes fall shut again. He felt the vibration as something settled against the mattress, then all was still. The only noise was the sound of Tsuzuki breathing, and it was soothing. Before he'd realized it, Hisoka had drifted away into sleep.

Tsuzuki sat on the floor next to Hisoka's bed and leaned against the mattress. Even without contact, he took comfort from Hisoka's nearness. He needed that reassurance.

The meeting with Murata Rika had left him shaken.

It was almost like seeing Ruka walk straight out of his memories, as if wishing for something long enough and hard enough could make it real. Even her name was similar! Flickering thoughts of reincarnation ran through his mind and he shook his head to clear them away. It meant nothing. That this girl looked like his long dead sister meant nothing. It was probably just one amazingly large coincidence.

He would probably never see her again…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Another day, another headache.

Hisoka sighed and rubbed his head in frustration. They were getting no where. The hospital was big and full and teeming with emotion. The only thing he could say for sure was that Totohome's soul had been there, and probably fairly recently, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to sense it at all. Determining if it was still in the loud and noisy building would be like reaching into a swimming pool full of pudding and pulling out the lone grain of rice.

Food analogies.

Hisoka shook his head in mock despair. He was using food analogies. You knew you were spending too much time with Tsuzuki when…

Oddly enough, that thought made him feel slightly better about the whole situation.

The hospital cafeteria was large and fairly empty at the moment, lunch well past, and still a bit too early for dinner. This made it a good place to sit and think for a moment.

He had wandered through most of the hospital without learning anything new. Paying special attention to the exits hadn't revealed anything either, no sense of Totohome leaving the premises. He was totally out of ideas. It was unlikely that their missing soul would just show itself.

His cell phone rang.

"The soul just showed itself!" Tsuzuki informed him hurriedly, "but there's something wrong, people are panicking in the main lobby!"

"I'll meet you there!" Hisoka told him and hung up. 'Great,' he thought as he ran through the hallways, 'panicking crowd vs. empath; guess who's gonna win.'

A tingling across his senses alerted him as he rushed into the lobby and skidded to a stop, so he was not fully surprised to see Tsuzuki standing in the middle of the open area with an ofuda held in one outstretched hand. Nor was he exactly surprised to see the large demon just inside the double front doors of the hospital.

The thing was vaguely canine, like a large mutant pit-bull.

A large, bald mutant pit-bull that stood nearly as high as he did, with horns, glowing red eyes, nastily long claws, bulking muscles, and a mouth that spread from ear to ear full of razor sharp teeth.

What was surprising was that the demon was only paying minimal attention to his partner. It was aware of the man, obviously, it would have to be blind to miss him, but for the most part the beast seemed to be focused on the huddled figure of a man across the lobby; their missing soul.

Of course, these were only the main players; although most people had already fled the lobby, a woman prayed quietly near the elevators crouched over a sobbing child, a pair of men stood against the wall pale and shaking, a terrified nurse ducked behind the information desk…

"Stand aside!"

Hisoka whirled, and then jumped to the side just in time to avoid being run over by a trio of security guards coming up behind him, fast. They tore into the lobby and stopped short, one fell on his butt in his attempt to back pedal, nearly landing on Hisoka's feet.

"What the…"

"Oh my g…"

"Holy shit!"

All three pulled their guns.

"Wait! Stop!" Tsuzuki cried as all three opened fire.

The gunfire was deafening as it echoed and reverberated through the lobby. People screamed and Hisoka's hands flew up to cover his ears as a large front window shattered and glass crashed to the floor.

Tsuzuki flung his 'fuda, but missed as the demon surged forward at lightning speed towards the security guards.

And Hisoka, who was still clutching his head.

"NO!"

Hisoka fumbling in his pocket for one of his own 'fuda, and cursing his lack of foresight in not already having one in his hand, barely heard Tsuzuki's shout. Before the echo of it had died away, the first security guard was dead; and the fear, screaming _pain panic terror _in the room had increased exponentially. Hisoka pulled his 'fuda free as the second guard stopped screaming, the noise ending in a gurgle, and Tsuzuki moved to intercept the demon.

Then their missing soul made his move. Totohome flew across the lobby and out of the hospital doors, a blur of motion noticed only by the shinigami and the demon.

The demon spun, carnage forgotten, and sped after the fleeing soul. Tsuzuki moved to follow, but hesitated.

"Go!" Hisoka commanded.

Tsuzuki went.

Hisoka shook his head in an attempt to clear it. His ears were ringing and his headache was a thousand times worse than it had been. Less than five minutes had passed since he entered the lobby, maybe 15 seconds since the first gunshot was fired.

Passing the one remaining guard who stood frozen and wide-eyed amongst the remains of his companions, Hisoka hurried after his partner.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tsuzuki sped after the demon as fast as his feet could move. Totohome had made a break for it, but Tsuzuki was sure that the spirit could not escape the demon without help. Why the demon had appeared was beyond him, there had been nothing in he case file to suggest anything about this level of complication.

Almost loosing sight of the demon as it whipped around a corner, Tsuzuki found he had a little more speed in him and tore after it. He couldn't afford to loose it. Although they could find it again, Hisoka would be able to follow a demon's trail as it the thing had left a dotted line behind it, there was no telling how much misery it could cause in that much time.

A sudden scream ripped through the afternoon, high pitched and echoing; 'a woman's scream' Tsuzuki thought as he threw himself around the next corner into a narrow passageway between buildings. Ahead of him he could see the demon pursuing the fleeing soul, both heading directly for a young woman who stood frozen in fear.

Tsuzuki pulled another 'fuda from his coat as he ran, but he was still too far back to interfere as the young woman threw her arms up to protect herself and screamed again.

The soul ran straight into her and vanished.

The impact knocked her over and her scream cut off as she hit the ground. She looked up to find the dog-like demon looming over her, growling. Her mouth dropped open, but this time no sound emerged.

Tsuzuki was finally close enough and let his 'fuda fly. It landed on the demons back and the creature let out a howl of pain, spinning back to face him. It bared it's teeth, spittle dripping from it's muzzle to sizzle and smoke on the ground. Tsuzuki stepped back as the demon advanced, throwing a second 'fuda, this one causing the demon to twitch and seize as the power of the charm tore through it.

Tsuzuki felt a figure slip past him, but kept his attention on the beast that was quickly recovering. He didn't need to see him to know that it was Hisoka slipping by him while the demon was distracted, so he was not surprised when he heard Hisoka's voice low and soothing.

"Come with me, we'll get you out of here."

There was a pause, and then Tsuzuki saw movement out of the corner of his eye; Hisoka helping the woman to her feet.

Unfortunately, the demon noticed too. It's large head turned towards the movement, a menacing growl growing loud in it's throat. Then it lunged at the woman and Hisoka.

Tsuzuki moved between them and the demon as he threw a third 'fuda. The demon howled again and dropped to the ground. Tsuzuki drew his final 'fuda from his coat, but the demon didn't advance. It got to it's feet, still growling, and slowly retreated, fading out of sight.

"It's you!"

Tsuzuki spun at the feminine gasp behind him and for the first time actually looked at the young woman now clinging to Hisoka's arm. His jaw dropped.

"It's you!" she repeated. "I met you yesterday at the coffee shop…"

And she promptly burst into tears.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The hotel room was small, featuring two single beds and a small kitchenette area with a battered table and two hard straight-back chairs. Both chairs were occupied by the shinigami as they watched their new charge sleep, her breath still occasionally hitching in sobs.

"Damn," Tsuzuki cursed, rubbing a hand over his forehead.

"Um, yeah," Hisoka agreed. "So just what the hell happened?"

Tsuzuki shrugged, looking tired. "I don't know. Totohome ran straight into her and poof! Gone."

"Do you think he could be possessing her? Or did he just leave?"

Tsuzuki quirked a brow at his empathic partner. "I'd think you'd have a better idea of that than I would."

Hisoka's gaze flicked back to the bed and its occupant. "I can't tell," he said, frowning slightly, "I can't sense much from her at all." The frown deepened. "With everything she's gone through this evening, she should be on the edge of a nervous breakdown, terrified and having screaming nightmares…"

Tsuzuki nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

"…but I'm getting less from her than I usually get from Tatsumi."

Tsuzuki watched as the girl took another shuddering breath in her sleep, she didn't seem calm. And Hisoka was right, for a long while after the demons disappearance, Rika had been panicky and clinging; but Hisoka had been unfazed by her near hysteria.

"I can't read her at all," Hisoka continued, still staring. "I can't tell if Totohome is possessing her or not. Can a soul hide inside another living person?" he asked, turning back to Tsuzuki.

Tsuzuki tilted his head looking thoughtful. "I suppose it's possible, I've never seen it though."

"So, maybe he's hiding from the demon inside her?"

"Which, of course, brings us to the big question." Tsuzuki sighed.

"Why is a demon hunting him in the first place?"

"Bingo."

Hisoka echoed Tsuzuki's sigh. "We're going to have to go back to the beginning, aren't we?"

Tsuzuki nodded, slumping dejectedly.

Hisoka mirrored Tsuzuki's dejection. They would have to go back to Totohome's home, but rather than just tracing the missing soul, this time they would have to dig into the man's life and past to find how the man had become the target of a demon. Then they would have to take care of said demon. Then they would have to find Totohome all over again. And just to add one more complication…

"We have to keep her safe." Tsuzuki finished Hisoka's unspoken thought. "If Totohome really is hiding insider her, or possessing her, that demon will be coming back."

The partners exchanged a glance, and then both turned back to watch the restless sleeper.

"She'll have to come with us."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hisoka scowled as he entered the black room.

The day had been feeling more and more surreal, and he was getting annoyed with all the unpleasant surprises that just kept cropping up.

The girl, Rika, had woken up several times during the night, each time afraid, and Tsuzuki would tell her she was safe, reassure her as she clung to him, and she would go back to sleep. The one time she'd awoken while Tsuzuki was asleep, Hisoka had gone to her side, to try to comfort her, and she had seemed grateful, but he knew he hadn't imagined the momentary annoyance that crossed her face when she saw him rather than his partner.

He could understand it, of course, Tsuzuki was older and looked like someone who could provide protection, and she'd already seen him fend off the demon once; meanwhile Hisoka himself appeared to be little more than a child.

He understood it, it didn't mean he had to like it.

Then there was the way the woman clung to Tsuzuki, occasionally shooting glances at him, Hisoka, that alternated between angry and unsure. Any time she had to talk to him, she kept it short, hurrying back to Tsuzuki as quick as she could, looking… Anxious? Hurt? He didn't know what to make of it.

Then there was the way Tsuzuki looked at her. Every time he did, Hisoka could feel the man's affection for her, and a wonder that bordered on awe. He didn't know what to make of that either, until his partner had slipped.

He had called Rika; Ruka.

The slip had sent his mind racing back to what Tsuzuki had said when he'd returned to the hotel two days earlier, disturbed and hiding any glimmer of emotion.

'I just saw someone I thought I knew.'

And for the first time Hisoka really looked at Rika.

Petite and slender, straight, even, delicate features, long dark hair, and dark eyes. But if those eyes had been a vivid shade of violet, she would have been a carbon copy of Tsuzuki in female form.

Hisoka didn't know much about his partner's sister. Tsuzuki rarely spoke about her, and when he did, it was painful. There was an ocean of guilt, anger, grief and self-hatred there, and it was enough to knock the empath flat.

What he did know though, was that Tsuzuki Ruka must have been an exceptionally wonderful person. The evidence was there in Tsuzuki's every thought, every action, every ideal, for hadn't his sister raised him to be the person he'd become? And if he'd needed any more proof, it was there in the fact that Tsuzuki had loved her, whole-heartedly.

There was no way this Rika person could ever measure up to Tsuzuki Ruka. There was something about her, something that was just so… so… off. It made him uneasy. He needed to get Tsuzuki alone as soon as possible so they could discuss it. So they could discuss what Rika was, and what she so obviously wasn't; preferably before Tsuzuki's feeling for the girl became any stronger.

Hisoka had reached this conclusion about the same time as they had reached Totohome's home. A small one story house, slightly larger than a closet, that he had inherited from a maternal uncle. They had visited the place earlier in the week, but then hey had been looking for the soul, not the history, and they had left quickly, following the traces of Totohome's presence.

But they weren't blind either, and Hisoka was sure, well, pretty sure anyways, that that door had not been there before, or the narrow stairway behind it, or the ugly room with no windows and black painted walls, or the ugly alter directly in front of him, stained with dark blotches of what could only be blood, or the big dog-like demon standing between him and the door.

Growling…

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tsuzuki thought Rika had taken the news rather well. She had after all, been attacked by a demon and met the walking dead the day before; then upon waking, been told that she must temporarily abandon her normal life and stay with them for her own protection. She had been afraid, but not overly so, and had agreed to stay with minimal hassle.

"So, explain this to me one more time," she'd requested as they walked they walked down the street. "We have to go to this Totohome's house, why?"

"We need to find out how Totohome was connected to the demon…"

At the mention of the demon, Rika took hold of his arm, squeezing tightly looking for reassurance. Tsuzuki smiled down at her.

"…and hopefully we can find out what or who the demon is. It's hard to get rid of a demon if you don't know what you're dealing with." He felt her shiver. "Ruka, it's going to be okay." He patted her hand. "We'll keep you safe."

"I know you will." Rika smiled up at him, then looked back over her shoulder at Hisoka, and her smile faded somewhat.

As they made their way across the city, Tsuzuki became more aware of the bi-play taking place between Rika and his partner. When Rika looked at the younger shinigami, she faltered, looking confused and a little sad. She tried to talk to Hisoka several times, but returned quickly looking forlorn and maybe a little hurt.

Hisoka, on the other hand, had started that morning regarding Rika with confusion and unease. That was natural Tsuzuki supposed; being unable to sense Rika's emotions with his empathy was bound to unnerve him, but as the progressed, those looks had changed.

"I don't think your partner likes me." Rika told him in a small voice, looking rather like a kicked puppy.

"Oh, no!" Tsuzuki exclaimed, "I'm sure he likes you fine, he just…" Tsuzuki looked behind him and let the sentence trail off.

Hisoka was regarding Rika with the air of one in deep contemplation, and not particularly pleased with what he was contemplating.

Tsuzuki frowned slightly and turned back to Rika. "Hisoka's just a very serious person."

But Tsuzuki watched as Hisoka's eyes showed more and more suspicion when he looked at Rika, and Rika noticed. She became quieter and more melancholy as she walked by his side, her hand on his arm as if seeking protection from Hisoka's less than friendly glances.

Tsuzuki fought the urge to glare back at his partner. After all, Ruka had done nothing wrong, she hadn't asked to be dragged into this mess, and she was co-operating as much as she could. Rika was smart and personable and lively, and she didn't deserve the open distrust that Hisoka was now showing.

It was a relief when they finally reached Totohome's house.

They agreed to split up. Hisoka would check the back of the house (bedroom and bath), while he and Rika would take the front (kitchen and living area).

They had been searching for less than 20 minutes when Tsuzuki felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the number, it was Hisoka.

Tsuzuki frowned, Hisoka wouldn't use the phone unless something was wrong. If he had found something, he would have just called out. "Hisoka?" he answered in a whisper soft voice.

There was no reply from his partner. In fact, Tsuzuki was willing to bet that Hisoka didn't even have the phone to his ear. He didn't need to. Tsuzuki could hear the loud growling coming clear through the phone. Either Hisoka had set his phone on a running engine, or…

Swearing under his breath, Tsuzuki ended the call.

"Tsuzuki? What…" Rika began in a rather loud voice.

"Shhhhhhh!" Tsuzuki hissed at her. He caught a hold of her wrist and pulled her through the kitchen to a tiny pantry. "In here," he whispered, "don't move, and don't make a sound. I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Rika nodded, her dark eyes wide with fear. It gave Tsuzuki a pang to see it, Ruka had looked that way once…

He closed the pantry door and made his way to the back of the house as quickly and quietly as he could.

Entering the bedroom, Tsuzuki could see where Hisoka had begun his search, where he had ended, and why. Tsuzuki frowned in confusion as he move to the small door that he was sure hadn't been there the first time they'd been in the house.

But before he got to the door, there was a shout and a crash.

Caution abandoned in his concern for his partner, Tsuzuki ran through the door, down a set of stairs, and into a black room.

Hisoka was crouched near the center of the room, his phone in his left hand, still open. In his right hand he held a 'fuda. His hand was steady, and there was a shimmer of a barrier around him.

The demon was extricating itself from the remains of an alter, which it had crashed into after rebounding off of Hisoka's barrier. It had regained it's feet and shook itself, scattering debris around the room. The horned head turned and took in Hisoka, still protected under his barrier, his attention fully focused on it, and then Tsuzuki at the bottom of the stairs, 'fuda in hand. It gave a piercing shriek of a growl, and then charged at Tsuzuki, knocking him to the ground and flying up the stairs.

Hisoka immediately dropped his barrier and ran after it, pausing only briefly to grab Tsuzuki's arm and help the man to his feet.

"C'mon! We have to go after it!"

In the next instant there was a crash and Rika's screams echoed though the house.

The shinigami raced up the stairs and into the kitchen. The demon was at the pantry door, clawing at the wood and crashing it's body into it. The door was beginning to splinter under the assault.

"NO!" Tsuzuki yelled and threw his 'fuda.

The demon howled, and faster than a flash had crossed the kitchen and exploded out the front door.

Tsuzuki ran to the pantry and pulled open what was left of the door. In his fear over Rika, he didn't notice Hisoka following the demon out into the night.

Rika had squeezed herself into a corner of the pantry, under a shelf, but when she saw Tsuzuki, she threw herself at him gasping and crying. Tsuzuki wrapped his arms around her and began leading her to the door, surprised to see that Hisoka was waiting for them there. He shook his head as Tsuzuki approached.

"It's gone."

Tsuzuki looked out at the night fighting the growing frustration. Finally he sighed. "Let's get back to the hotel."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The early morning light drew Hisoka from an uneasy sleep. Rousing quickly, he ducked into the bathroom and dressed. He found Tsuzuki asleep in one of the chairs at the kitchenette table and shook him awake.

"We need to talk," He said as he shook the elder shinigami into consciousness He shot an inscrutable look at the young woman who was once again laying curled up in the other twin bed.

Tsuzuki frowned, but after a large stretch and yawn followed him willingly enough out into the hall.

"It's about Rika…"

"You don't like her," Tsuzuki interrupted.

"No I don't," Hisoka confirmed.

"…and you're being glaringly obvious about it."

"What do you expect me to do Tsuzuki? Put on a big fake smile and lie through my teeth?" Hisoka shook his head. "There's something wrong about her." There was nothing about her behaviour that was wrong, but the more time he spent around her, the more certain he was, like listening to a piece of music that was just slightly out of syncopation; just… off.

Tsuzuki, however, didn't seem to agree and was shaking his own head. "There's nothing wrong with her, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Yeah." Hisoka scowled. "Alone, behind a building in the middle of the afternoon when most people are at work. In a dead end ally at just the right time to run into a missing soul, a demon and two shinigami. That strikes me as being a whole honking bunch of coincidence right there."

"Just what are you trying to say?" Tsuzuki asked coldly.

Hisoka looked directly into Tsuzuki's eyes. "I'm saying we need to be careful. We need to keep our eyes open and not get attached."

Tsuzuki's eyes narrowed slightly at the emphasis Hisoka put on the word 'attached'.

"She…" Hisoka paused. He didn't know how to say it, so he took a deep breath and blurted it out. "She's not your sister Tsuzuki."

Tsuzuki jerked back as if Hisoka had slapped him. "I know that!"

"Do you?" Hisoka moved a step closer. " 'Cause the feelings I've been getting from you…"

"I know who she is danmit!" Tsuzuki flared angrily.

"You called her Ruka yesterday."

That stopped Tsuzuki's anger in its tracks. "I did?"

Hisoka nodded. "When you told everything would be okay. I just don't want you to get hurt…"

Tsuzuki thawed completely. "I know, I'm sorry, I'll be careful, I promise!"

Hisoka raised a brow sceptically, but his partner gave him a reassuring smile.

"We need to report in. Why don't you do that, and you can ask the Gushoshin to run Rika through their computers while you're at it. I'll stay here and keep and eye on her."

Hisoka hesitated.

Tsuzuki held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'll be good, I swear!"

Finally Hisoka nodded and disappeared back to Enma-Cho.

Tsuzuki went back into the hotel room, his eyes falling immediately on the girl laying curled into a ball in the centre of his bed. She looked vulnerable, and scared, and; Tsuzuki thought as he took a seat across from her on Hisoka's bed, lost.

Rika's eyes blinked open and her lips curved in a tremulous smile.

"Are you okay?" Tsuzuki asked solicitously.

"I think so," she said as she sat up, her gaze swept the room, the small smile disappearing. "Where's Hisoka?"

"Oh, he went to report in to our superior."

"He'll be back?" she asked, an odd wariness coming over her features.

"Yes, later, why?" Tsuzuki asked.

"It's nothing, it's just that he… well… never mind, I'm just being silly."

"No, what is it?" Tsuzuki asked encouragingly.

"It's just that he scares me."

"Scared? Of Hisoka?" Taken aback, Tsuzuki couldn't seem to fit the idea together. "Why?"

Rika lowered her eyes and fidgeted.

"Rika?"

She looked up and took a deep breath. "He wants me gone. I can see it every time he looks at me, and I can't help but wonder exactly what.." her voice lowered to a whisper, "…what he'd be willing to do to make me be gone."

Tsuzuki quickly got up and moved to sit beside her. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he squeezed reassuringly. "Hisoka wouldn't do anything to hurt you! We're both here to protect you! I know Hisoka seems cold, but that's because he's cautious…" Tsuzuki trailed off thinking about one of the points that Hisoka had brought up in the hall. "What were you doing in an ally way yesterday afternoon anyways?"

Rika smiled wanly and reached into a pocket, pulling out a small picture. "I was chasing this." She handed the picture to Tsuzuki. "It's a picture of my older brother. He raised me after our parents died, but last year he died in an apartment fire."

Tsuzuki studied the picture of the young man, he looked rather ordinary, but happy, smiling out of the photograph.

Rika reached out and took it back, holding it reverently. "I always have it on me, and when I took it out to look at yesterday afternoon, the wind caught it. I chased it behind the building, and had only just got it back when that odd man and the demon ran into the ally." She put the picture on a small chest of drawers beside the bed, propped against a lamp. "I really miss him," she said, her eyes shinning with unshed tears. " I couldn't let his picture be blown away, it's all I have left of him."

Tsuzuki reached out to the hurting girl and drew her into his arms, rocking her slightly and she took deep breaths and tried almost successfully not to cry. Finally she pulled back and gave him another tremulous smile.

"Thanks." She wiped her eyes and seemed calmer. "I'm sorry, it's just that everything is such a big mess!" She gestured around her vaguely, indicating the entire situation.

"We'll figure it out." Tsuzuki said, smiling warmly. "We always do, so don't worry about it, no one blames you."

"Hisoka does," Rika said, barely over a whisper.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Come in."

Hisoka hesitated for only a brief moment before opening the door of Tatsumi's office and letting himself in.

Although he respected the secretary greatly, he still found the man to be just a little intimidating.

"I've come to give our report…"

Tatsumi nodded, barely looking up from his paperwork; and Hisoka told him about Totohome, the demon, Rika, and her resemblance to Tsuzuki's long dead sister, and Tsuzuki's growing attachment. By the time he was finished, Tatsumi had abandoned his papers and was watching him intently, concern strong in those deep blue eyes.

"Would you prefer I re-assign the case?" he asked evenly.

Hisoka considered for a long moment; actually, he would like nothing better than for the case to be re-assigned, but he knew that Tsuzuki would be upset to be pulled out now. And they had talked, and Tsuzuki had promised to try harder to keep his distance, to be objective. "No," Hisoka said slowly, "not now anyway. If there's a problem later…"

"I'll keep the option available," Tatsumi assured him.

"Thank you."

"If that's everything you may return to work. Please keep me informed."

Nodding, Hisoka let himself out of the office and headed directly for the library. The Gushoshin greeted him warmly, in tandem, and he handed them a piece of paper with all the information he an Tsuzuki knew about Rika on it. "I need anything you can find on this girl."

Gushoshin looked over the paper. "There's not much to go on, but we'll get on it right away!"

His brother nodded enthusiastically. "We'll call you as soon as we've got something!"

With much thanking on his part, and bowing by the Gushoshins, Hisoka left the library and headed for the office he shared with Tsuzuki. He needed to clear away some papers, and he wanted to see if he could find anything similar to that dog-demon thing in the computer files.

It was several hours later that Hisoka switched off his computer, rubbing the back of his neck, and blinking after staring at the screen for so long. At least it hadn't been a total loss. He had found reference to the demon; a low level, servile type, almost always under the direction of a summoner or more powerful demon.

Perhaps Totohome had summoned the thing and it had turned on him. Low level it might be, but vicious and hard to control. He would have to go back to Totohome's house and look again. Collecting his notes into a folder, Hisoka headed back to Chijou.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hisoka threw the file folder onto the kitchenette table as he walked into the hotel room. He could hear running water, but it cut off abruptly and Rika came hurrying out of the bathroom. She came to a stop when she saw him.

"Oh. It's you," she said irritatedly, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, it's me," Hisoka confirmed blandly. "Where's Tsuzuki?"

Rika walked over to one of the beds and threw herself across it. "He went out to get us some dinner."

Hisoka sniffed.

Rika sat up suddenly, looking at him intently. "I don't know why you bothered to come back."

Hisoka raised a brow at her. "What?"

"I don't know why you came back," she re-iterated. "You are rather useless, you know."

"Useless?" Hisoka asked, incredulous.

"Yes, useless. Seriously, we've seen the demon twice; the first time you just stood there, and the second time…" she smirked, and scorn laced her voice, "…you had to call for help."

Hisoka felt his face reddening.

"If Tsuzuki hadn't had to go and save you, the demon wouldn't have had a chance to come after me. Honestly, I don't know why you're here!"

"I am here because shinigami work in pairs," Hisoka hissed through clenched teeth, advancing on her. "I am here to protect my partner. I am here…"

Suddenly Rika jerked up, her posture changing. She had drown up defensively, one hand outstretched as if to ward him off.

Hisoka stopped, confused.

"What is going on here?"

Hisoka closed his eyes in frustration. Because he was standing between Tsuzuki and their charge, Tsuzuki wasn't able to see the smug smirk still on the girl's face. He opened his eyes and glared at her.

"I said," Tsuzuki began to repeat, "what…

And Rika burst into tears.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"I said," Tsuzuki began to repeat, "what…

And Rika burst into tears.

Hisoka took a step back, but Tsuzuki moved forward swiftly. Dropping a bag on the table beside the file folder, he moved to the bed and knelt down in front of Rika. "What happened? Are you…"

Rika stopped the question by throwing herself into his arms and knocking the breath out of him. He looked up at Hisoka with a brow raised questioningly.

Hisoka was glaring at them and scowling, but he shrugged. "I have no idea."

"How… how can you say that?" Rika gasped out between sobs, "you… you…"

"Oh, for God's sake…" Hisoka snapped, stepping forward, but Rika flinched back against Tsuzuki. Hisoka narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"What happened?" Tsuzuki demanded angrily, something had obviously happened between the two, and he wanted to know what!

Hisoka turned his regard to his partner, and whatever he saw there wiped the scowl off his face. Without a word, Hisoka turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door hard behind him.

Tsuzuki made a move to get up and follow; something in those green eye screamed at him, but Rika clung to him with iron tenacity, still sobbing.

Sighing heavily, Tsuzuki abandoned his attempt to get up, and settled for rocking Rika as she gradually quieted. It seemed a long time passed before she let out a hiccup and whispered "sorry."

"It's alright," Tsuzuki assured her as he continued to rock her gently.

"It's not really my fault, is it? That all this is happening?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Tsuzuki started. "Is that what Hisoka told you?" he asked, pulling back enough so that he could look into her face.

Rika gulped, a few more tears escaping and trickling down her cheeks.

Tsuzuki reached out and grabbed her a tissue to wipe her eyes. "No, it's not your fault, and I don't know why Hisoka would say such a thing." He pulled away, successfully this time. "I need to talk to him."

"He hates me," Rika said with a small, sad, rueful smile; so like one he had seen before, it made his chest tighten. He wondered why Hisoka wouldn't give Rika a chance. Granted the boy generally didn't get close to people on assignment, but he had never been openly hostile before either.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Hisoka's hands clenched into fists as he walked down the street. Rage burned through his veins as he once again re-played the scene inside the hotel room. Rika had set him up; played him like a violin! She knew when Tsuzuki would be back, and she had deliberately placed herself so that she would see him come in, and he, Hisoka, wouldn't.

And the way Tsuzuki had looked at him!

Hisoka's shoulders slumped, his hands unfisting; he had seen Tsuzuki angry before, but never like that, and never at him! That anger-accusation mixed in those deep violet eyes.

It hurt to have Tsuzuki look at him the way his father had when he'd made his mother angry, the way his mother had most of the time. The way the help had looked at him when they'd had to enter the cold cellar to bring him food. That look that passed judgement, and blame.

To have Tsuzuki look at him the same way as the people who had hated him…

Did Tsuzuki hate him?

Hisoka shook his head violently and ruthlessly pushed the thought aside. Idol hands were the devils tools, and apparently idol thoughts weren't too far behind. Tsuzuki didn't have it in him to hate anyone, except maybe Muraki, who really, really deserved it.

Tsuzuki and he had been through too much together for Tsuzuki to ever hate him. Tsuzuki _cared_ about him. Hisoka clung to that thought, repeating it over and over in his head until he reached Totohome's house.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Searching through Totohome's house with a fine tooth comb was boring.

Starting in the kitchen, moving through the living room and finally into the bedroom, Hisoka had gone over every scrap of paper in the house, checked every floorboard, and looked in every nook and cranny; twice. He had been at it for hours with only his thoughts for company. They had whittled down to the basics; why? Why had Rika played him? What did she want?

Tsuzuki?

It was possible, and it wouldn't be the first time. It seemed that every second case they worked somebody fell for Tsuzuki. Luckily, most were content to moon after him or make goo goo eyes at him from afar, but one or two were more aggressive. Hisoka supposed that he should be glad that Rika wasn't like Muraki, who skipped right over aggressive and right into obsessive psychotic.

But if that was what Rika was about, maybe it would be best to avoid her games and broach the matter head on. It would make dealing with the rest of the investigation that much easier.

Speaking of the investigation… Hisoka slumped down on Totohome's bed, racking his brain; trying to think of anything, anywhere he might have missed.

His mind was totally blank.

With a sigh of frustration Hisoka let himself fall back across the bed. He rubbed a hand over his face before letting it fall to the mattress as well. It was late, and he knew that he should get up and get back to the hotel.

Five minutes later he was fast asleep.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tsuzuki was not having a good night. It had taken him another hour and a half to coax Rika out of her dejection and into eating some of the dinner he'd brought. As soon as she seemed to be feeling a little better Tsuzuki had slipped out of the hotel to look for his partner.

Several hours later he had nothing to show for his efforts but worry, frustration, and a headache.

Checking his watch, he decided to head back to the hotel; it was after midnight and maybe Hisoka had returned on his own.

Slipping quietly into the room, Tsuzuki quickly saw that there was only one occupant. Rika had draped a scarf over the lamp, giving the room a dim reddish cast, but it was enough to see Rika asleep in one of the beds, the other was empty.

Tsuzuki plopped down into one of the hard kitchenette chairs. He put his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands, his fingers knotting into his hair.

And then he blinked.

Directly in front of his face was a file folder.

Sitting up again, he flipped it open. Paging through the notes that Hisoka had made about the demon, what was required to summon it, control it, things Hisoka would have to return to Totohome's house to see if he had, to confirm that Totohome had summoned the thing.

Tsuzuki let out a sigh of relief. He knew where Hisoka was.

"Tsuzuki?"

Tsuzuki looked up with a start to find Rika standing right next to him, wrapped in his own robe. "what are you doing up?"

"I heard you thunk down in that chair," she said with a fond smile. "A ninja you are not. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Tsuzuki shook his head. "No, thanks. It's late and you should go back to bed."

Rika smiled again, but this time it seemed more fragile. "You'll stay with me, won't you?"

"I really should go and see what Hisoka…" Tsuzuki began.

"I lied," Rika interrupted, her smile becoming strained and tremulous. "It wasn't you that woke me up, I had a nightmare… about that demon, and I… I just don't want to be alone right now."

Tsuzuki took in her lowered head, the way her hands trembled, and let out a soft sigh. "Of course," he said, hoping that Hisoka would be alright on his own. "I'll stay."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Buzzzzzzzz...

Buzzzzzzzz...

Buzzzzzzzz...

It was, Hisoka thought groggily, one of the worst ways to wake up. Without opening his eyes, barely comprehending where he was, he somehow managed to find his phone and get it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hisoka-kun!" came the very loud, very awake voice of Gushoshin. "We managed to find some information on that girl of yours."

"You have?" Hisoka blinked. The room was full of the dim light that came with the early morning.

"Yes, we've put everything together, you can pick it up as soon as you're ready."

Hisoka blinked again, wondering what time it was. If it was before 8, he was going to pluck some tail feathers.

"Hisoka-kun?"

"Yeah, okay," Hisoka muttered, trying to hoist himself upright. "I'll be there as soon as I can." He flipped the phone shut, ran his free hand through his hair and yawned.

And froze.

He was still in Totohome's house. Had fallen asleep there, and spent the whole night.

And Tsuzuki hadn't come.

It wasn't like he in any danger, Hisoka reasoned, trying to push away the irrational hurt; it wasn't like he needed Tsuzuki, or wanted his partner to play babysitter to him, it was just that this was a first. Similar things had happened before, but this time…

Tsuzuki hadn't come.

Tsuzuki had never just… left him before…

But Tsuzuki had to stay with Rika, that demon was still out there, and she was still in danger; and maybe Tsuzuki hadn't realized where he had gone.

There was no reason to feel hurt…

No reason at all….

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tsuzuki watched as the sun crested the horizon and rose, as the pink, orange and gold of dawn melted into the clear blue morning sky. Rika was once again asleep, her soft breathing the only sound in the small room. A quick glance at his watch showed Tsuzuki that it was after 8; and Hisoka still had not come back.

Tsuzuki tried to quell his worry, Hisoka was fully capable of taking care of himself, even if something had gone wrong…

Even if he'd run into that demon again, or the person who had summoned it…

Rika murmured and turned in her sleep, and Tsuzuki gave himself a mental shake, pushing away the dark thoughts. As soon as Rika was awake, they would head over to Totohome's house and find out what had happened to his partner.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Getting off Totohome's bed turned out not to be the simple task that it would seem to be. In placing his hands on the edge of the mattress to boost himself up, one hand slipped, landing hard on the box spring, the sting travelling up his arm. The mattress shifted as his weight fell back against it. Hisoka let out a long stream of curses that cut off abruptly when he saw the book.

Hisoka pulled it out from between the mattress and box spring where it had been hidden. He hoisted himself up and, giving the mattress a tug to right it, sat back down on the bed.

It was a small book with a plain black cover, and Hisoka turned it over in his hands several times before opening it.

It was a diary.

Or rather, a journal; as Totohome said in the first entry, only girls kept diaries.

The first entry was dated a little over a year ago. With a rising sense of excitement, Hisoka began to read.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Tsuzuki nearly jumped out of his skin when Rika suddenly sat bolt upright in the bed, her eyes open wide, breathing heavily.

"Rika?" Tsuzuki asked, getting to his feet and moving towards her. Her head turned at the sound of his voice, but her eyes were glassy and unfocused, and Tsuzuki wasn't sure she was seeing him.

"Rika?" he repeated.

She blinked and her body relaxed slightly. "Tsuzuki?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yes," she stuttered. "Just a bad dream. Has Hisoka come back?"

Tsuzuki shook his head and Rika gave him a long searching look. "You're worried."

"It's fine," Tsuzuki assured her with a crooked smile.

"No," Rika said, climbing out of bed. "You wouldn't be worried if there was nothing to be worried about. Let me get dressed and we can go and find him."

Tsuzuki caught her hand as she passed him on her way to the bathroom. He gave her fingers a squeeze. "Thank you."

The returning smile was warm. "Of course!"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The first entry was dated a little over a year earlier, starting with Totohome's description of a kitchen fire at the restaurant where he worked. Apparently a good portion of the man's left side, his arm and hand had received severe burns, requiring skin grafts and rehabilitation.

Totohome wrote of the frustration of trying to work with his damaged limb, the pain of the grafts and the nerve damage. Finally, around the 10th entry, Totohome mentioned a girl named 'Kiki-san' whom he had met in the burn ward.

Apparently Kiki-san's injuries were worse than his were, she had been in the hospital for almost a year, since her apartment had caught fire with her trapped inside.

Over the next several entries Totohome wrote about Kiki-chan, how nice she was, how brave, how she argued with the doctors who were trying to reconstruct her face and hands. About how she whispered secrets to him when they were alone, and how she promised him that when they left the hospital, they could stay together forever.

After nearly a dozen entries, Hisoka found one where Totohome mentioned that something Kiki-chan said had disturbed him. She wanted him to get some things for her, but he didn't say what. A few entries later, he and Kiki-chan had moved into his house, and then things started getting weird.

Weird sounds in the night, waking up to find Kiki-chan watching him, things moving by themselves, and Kiki-chan brought home a puppy and killed it in the kitchen. Fear was the predominant theme in Totohome's later entries. He wrote how he couldn't stop what was happening, he was afraid of the girl he'd fallen in love with, and everywhere he went, he could feel eyes watching him…

Hisoka felt the hairs at the back of his neck prickle as he read the last lines, he could feel those eyes himself.

He looked up, straight into the eyes of the mutant pitbull from Hell.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Rika proceeded up the street at a brisk pace and Tsuzuki found himself rushing to keep up with her. She also seemed to have a pretty food idea of where they were going, but Tsuzuki knew that couldn't be true because he had yet to tell her of their destination.

She had taken less than five minutes to dress and had strode across the hotel room and out the door. Tsuzuki had barely had time to snatch the file off the table as he hurried after her.

"Rika?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "Yes?"

"We're going back to Totohome's house."

"I know," she said in a clipped tone.

"Really? How?"

Rika's stride faltered as she glanced back at him again. "You told me last night."

"I did?" Tsuzuki wracked his brain trying to remember everything he'd said the night before; he'd been tired and worried, and he had been thinking about it, perhaps he had been thinking out loud.

Rika flashed him a grin. "Well, it's more like you muttered it, and not necessarily at me, but I heard you anyways.

**XXXXX**

Hisoka sat absolutely still, his eyes locked with those of the demon, gobs of drool fell from it's mouth to sizzle and smoke on the carpet at his feet. Moving with excruciating slowness, Hisoka let go of the journal with one hand and reached into his pocket.

Feeling the smoothness of paper under his fingertips, he wrapped his hand around the fuda.

Suddenly the demon growled and leaned closer. Globules of saliva landed on the open pages of the journal. There was a sizzling hiss as the corrosive stuff began to eat through the paper.

With a shout Hisoka threw the journal away and at the same time pulled the fuda from his pocket and slapped it against the demons head.

The creature jumped back howling and shaking it's head trying to dislodge the charm.

Hisoka jumped up and pulled another 'fuda from his pocket, prepared to press his advantage, when a scream pierced through the room. He whipped his head in the direction of the noise, enough to glimpse Rika standing in the doorway, before turning back to the demon.

But it was too late. The momentary distraction gave the advantage back to the demon and it bounded forward, knocking Hisoka off his feet, turned and raced at the helpless girl.

Rika threw up her hands to ward the demon off, but even as it's jaw were closing on her, a hand caught the collar of her shirt and jerked her back.

The demon didn't slow, despite it's miss, and in a move almost too fast for the eye to follow, the demon sped out of the house.

"Damn," Hisoka cursed looking after the demon; he'd almost had it! His gaze shifted slightly to take in Rika and her saviour. Shaking his head he got to his feet and crossed the room to retrieve the diary.

He needn't have bothered. The book was a mess, all of the pages were essentially mush, dissolved into utter rubbish.

"Hisoka?"

Hisoka heaved a deep sigh and turned to face Tsuzuki, and then frowned. Rika was still clinging to the older man, but she was staring at him; and the look on her face, he just couldn't begin to describe it. Not scared, angry, sad, or happy. Smug… maybe, a little fierce… curious… and maybe a little defensive too. Hisoka had no idea what to make of it.

"Hisoka? Are you okay?" Tsuzuki asked, taking a step towards him.

Hisoka watched the way Rika moved with him before focusing his attention back on his partner. "I'm fine, but the diary is pulp."

"Diary?" Tsuzuki questioned, his eyes flicking to the sludge in the corner.

"It was Tothome's. He didn't summon the demon, his girlfriend did."

"He had a girlfriend? That wasn't in the file!" Tsuzuki said sounding annoyed.

"Neither was the accident that put him in the hospital, but they were in his diary," Hisoka told him.

"What was his girlfriends name?" Rika asked.

Hisoka shrugged. "He called her Kiki-chan."

"That's not much to go on," Tsuzuki said sounding disheartened.

"No," Hisoka agreed, "but there were a few other things in the diary that we can follow up on."

"Like what?" Rika asked.

Hisoka spared her a brief glance, but quickly turned his attention back to Tsuzuki. "We should go to the restaurant where Totohome worked, there was a fire about a year ago, and that's how he ended up in the hospital where he met Kiki-san. He may have had friends or co-workers that he talked to there; people who may know more about what happened to him in the last year."

Tsuzuki was nodding in agreement. "That's a good place to start."

"And Gushoshin called me, they have the information we requested."

Tsuzukis nodding slowed dramatically. "Goooood, you should go get that as soon as possible."

Hisoka narrowed his eyes. "You should come with me."

"Oh no!" Tsuzuki put his hands up in mock surrender. "Every time I get near the library the Gushoshin threaten me with bodily harm. That one's all yours."

"Fine," Hisoka snapped, trying very hard not to turn and glare at Rika, who he was sure was the real reason his partner was ditching out on him, The Gushoshins threats were all bluff, and Tsuzuki knew it. "Then you two can check out the restaurant where Totohome worked while I check in at the library."

"What's the place called?" Tsuzuki asked.

"No idea," Hisoka told him, "but Totohome said it was a short walk, so it's gotta be close. You'll have to ask around."

"Lovely," Tsuzuki groaned. "Leg work."

Hisoka almost grinned at that. "Suck it up slacker, it's part of the job."

Tsuzuki stuck out his tongue at his younger partner. "Meet you back at the hotel in a couple of hours."

**XXXXX**

The Gushoshin were hovering in the stacks when Hisoka arrived at the library. They immediately floated over when they saw him.

"Well, we got what you wanted Hisoka-kun, but why you and Tsuzuki want information on a dead person…"

"A what?" Hisoka asked in surprise.

"A dead person. Murata Rika died over a year ago."

Hisoka flipped open the file and immediately focused on the picture of a girl in her late teens or early twenties, slightly overweight with dark chestnut hair and a heart shaped face. "Oh," he let his breath out slowly. "This is the wrong girl."

"It is?" Both Gushoshin moved closer to peer at the file as if it had changed in the minute since they'd handed it over. "But it's the only Murata Rika we have on record for this area!"

"Maybe this Rika's not from around here?" Hisoka questioned, "or maybe there's a mistake in the records?"

'Or maybe', he thought to himself, 'Rika's just using this girls name.' With a sigh of frustration he closed the folder. "If you don't mind, I'll keep this," he gestured to the folder, "and if you could take another look, I'd appreciate it."

**XXXXX**

They'd gone about four blocks when they found it.

'IT' was not the restaurant where Totohome had worked, but rather the road where it must be located, and if he hadn't been there for work, Tsuzuki would have thought he'd entered Paradise.

A dozen or more restaurants lined the street; tea shops, a ramen stand, a bakery…

"Oh! Look!" Rika exclaimed, pointing. "There's a pastry shop!" She gave him an impish grin. "And we haven't had breakfast yet!"

Tsuzuki gazed at her through tears of joy. "I think I love you!"

"Love me a little more and I'll treat!" She teased.

Tsuzuki grabbed her hand and scampered off to the pastry shop, dragging Rika, laughing, behind him.

**XXXXX**

The large front windows of the hospital had been covered over by large sheets of plywood, giving the lobby a dim, funeral appearance, despite the florescent light.

Hisoka made his way to the front desk, trying hard to block the emotions coming from the jittery staff. "Could you please tell me where the burn ward is?"

After receiving directions, Hisoka made his way to the elevators. He took a cab to the third floor, then followed the receptionists directions down a long corridor, a right, and finally he came to another desk, where a nurse was seated, paging through a chart.

"Excuse me?"

The nurse looked up and smiled. "How can I help you?"

Hisoka gave her his most charming smile. "My cousin passed away recently, and I'm trying to track down his girlfriend. I'm afraid I don't know her name, but I know she was a patient here at the same time he was. My cousins name was Totohome Nitsku. When he told me about his girlfriend, he called her Kiki-san."

"That poor girl," the nurse exclaimed. "I knew her, she was here for almost a year! She required multiple surgeries and skin grafts to reconstruct her face and body. The poor dear went through so much, and she was so sweet…" the nurse frowned, "most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Hisoka asked.

"Well," the nurse hesitated, "sometimes she would get nasty, not often though. I think it was when the stress or the pain just got to be too much, she went through so much trauma. She was impatient for everything to be done."

"Do you know where she went when she left the hospital?"

The nurse smiled at him kindly. "I'm afraid I couldn't give out that kind of personal information. I'm afraid I can't even give you her name, but what I can do is contact her and let her know you've been making enquiries. If you'll give me you phone number, I'll pass it on to her and ask her to call you."

"I'd appreciate that."

The nurse handed him a slip of paper and a pen and Hisoka wrote down his cell phone number and handed it back to her. "Could you please tell Kiki-san that it's rather urgent she contact me?"

"Of course dear!"

Hisoka watched as the nurse went to a file cabinet, pulled open a drawer, and after a few minutes of searching through them, pulled out a thick file and set it on her desk, placing Hisoka number on top of it.

"I have to make my rounds now, but I'll make the call as soon as I get back."

Hisoka thanked her again and left the burn ward, but when the busy nurse returned to her desk nearly half an hour later, both the file and the phone number were gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

With the files from the Gushoshin and the hospital tucked under his arm, Hisoka found a small café that was nearly deserted. He made his way to a secluded corner and ordered a tea, calling Tsuzuki, and getting his voicemail, he left a message saying he would be late getting back to the hotel. His tea arrived and Hisoka stirred it absently as he opened Kiki-san's hospital file.

Her name was Murata Rika.

Hisoka blinked and read the name again.

It was still the same, Murata Rika. There was a picture of the girl paper clipped to the inside flap of the file, but the picture must have been taken at her arrival, because the face in the photo was so badly damaged that the girl didn't look like anyone; not the Rika presently with Tsuzuki, or the Rika in the Gushoshin's file.

Taking a sip of his tea to fortify himself, Hisoka began to page through the file.

The first forms were emergency intake, initial diagnostics, and paramedic reports; apparently Murata Rika had died as the paramedics had arrived, but they'd been able to successfully resuscitate her on route to the hospital. She spent a week in intensive care as the doctors struggled to stabilize her, and when they had finally succeeded, she had been transferred to the burn ward.

Next came a list of surgeries so long it made Hisoka wince. Even if he didn't like Rika, if she had gone through all of this, he felt sorry for her.

There were notes and observations written in by the doctors and nurses who attended Rika. There was a notation by one doctor about Rika acting inappropriately under sedation, a long note under one surgery explaining that the previously denied elective surgery was preformed after the patient struck her face off the steel bars of her hospital bed repeatedly, with enough force to break both of her cheekbones.

Twice there was mention of a private plastic surgeon being brought in to aid with the reconstruction, and once a psychiatrist; who found Rika charming and well balanced, despite her occasional aberrant behaviour. At that comment, Hisoka went back looking for more aberrant behaviour. It wasn't hard to find; displeased with the results of a surgery on her mouth, Rika had gotten a hold of a scalpel and widened her mouth by an inch and a half on each side, and she cut the tip of her own nose off after telling the doctors it was too long. But because all of her outbursts had been self-directed, it was chalked up to stress, reactions to medications, and grief.

Hisoka took a sip of his tea and continued to peruse the file. There was no forwarding address for Murata Rika anywhere in the papers, but there was two phone numbers, one he recognized as being Totohome's home number. He pulled out his phone, and immediately dialled the second number only to have a machine tell him it was out of service. With a sigh Hisoka put his phone away and redirected his attention to the file.

There was a previous address listed under the phone numbers.

He pulled out the other file and quickly flipping through the goshushins notes, found the address of the deceased Murata Rika.

They were the same.

Gathering both files together, Hisoka gulped down the rest of his tea, dropped some change on the table and left the cafe at a brisk clip.

He had a lead.

**XXXXX**

Tsuzuki thought the restaurant smelled wonderful. It was modelled after an Italian bistro, and the tomato, garlic, and cheese aromas were making his mouth water in spite of the dozen or so pasties he'd had earlier. Not to mention all the other snacks he'd had since.

Rika stood patiently by the door, and Tsuzuki couldn't help but feel bad for her. They had, after all, been at this for hours; and at every restaurant they had stopped in, Rika had stood quietly and unobtrusively out of the way while Tsuzuki questioned the staff to find out if any of them had been employed long enough to remember a kitchen fire that resulted in injuries, or Totohome specifically.

This time however, it seemed they had hit pay dirt.

"Sure, I remember the fire," the young man told him. "One of our cooks was trapped in the kitchen and he was really badly burned trying to get out."

"Totohome Nitsku?"

"Do you know him?" the waiter asked, surprised.

"Did you?" Tsuzuki returned.

"Sure, he was my best friend. We'd been best friends since middle school, but then the fire… and he got a new girlfriend… Well, I've only seen him a couple of times in the last year."

"Did you ever meet his girlfriend?"

"No," the waiter said, looking disgruntled. "I talked to her once or twice when I called the house, but she usually shot me down pretty quickly. Once she even hung up on me. Don't know what Nitsku sees in her."

"When was the last time you saw Totohome?" Tsuzuki asked.

"He stopped by a few weeks ago. He said he was feeling pretty stressed, so we had a few drinks." the young man paused, reflecting back. "He was acting kinda weird."

"Weird? How?"

"All jittery and tense, like he'd hyped up on too much caffeine. Defiantly not Nitsku's style, he was always laid back."

"But not that night?"

"Nope, kept looking around like he was expecting to get jumped or something, and he babbled a bunch of garbage."

"Like?"

"Oh, like did I believe in Hell and demons, and what did I think a demon would look like. What if magic really worked; nonsense, dumb crap."

"Did he say anything else?"

"No. Just that, well, he seemed scared… really scared, actually. Is he in trouble?"

Suddenly Tsuzuki realized that the young man had been speaking of Totohome in the present tense; he did not know his friend was dead!

Damn!

Tsuzuki reached out and gently placed his hand on the waiters arm. "Perhaps we should sit down for a minute, there's something I need to tell you…"

**XXXXX**

The address led Hisoka just outside the city, to a large old house that had been re-modeled into single apartments. The owner, Kinashita Isano, was an effervescent older woman, and more than happy to talk to him.

She invited him in and offered him copious amounts of tea and cookies while she told him all about the 'nice young man' who had rented the upper apartment.

"Murata Minoru came looking for an apartment when he was 18. He was leaving home for the first time, to go to school, and since he was willing to take the top floor, I gave him a bit of a discount on the rent," she said, smiling. "As you may have noticed, there's no elevator, so Minoru-san had to traverse three flights of stairs to come and go; but he never complained. He was an excellent tenant, he was polite, he never made trouble, and he always paid on time.

"Then, six years ago his parents died in a car accident, so sad! And his 15 year old sister came to live with him. I was sure there would be trouble, but I was wrong. Rika was quiet and polite. She was grieving, of course, she took her parents death hard and ended up repeating that year of high school.

"Minoru-san was very patient with her, but for a young girl having no one to talk to but an older brother… So I invited her to tea. Have another cookie.

"Well, she started coming over several times a week. I think she was happy to have another woman to talk to, and I was happy for the company.

"And then, the fire…

"Did you know the firemen said it was caused by a short in the wiring? They were wrong, of course, I would never have let anything like that go unchecked long enough to become a fire hazard! I'm meticulous about maintenance. Personally, I think it was the stalker."

"Someone had a stalker?" Hisoka asked.

"Oh yes!" Kinashita-san told him. "About a month before the fire, Rika mentioned to me that she thought someone might be following her around. In the weeks leading up to it, she became more sure. I advised her to go to the police, but she said she couldn't because she had no proof, she couldn't even identify her stalker because the coward never got close enough for her to get a good look at him. Rika once described it as being followed around by a very persistent shadow.

"Minoru-san was worried about her too. I know he didn't believe her stories about a stalker, he wanted her to see a psychiatrist, he thought it was all in her head…

"But I saw him…"

"You saw Rika's stalker?" Hisoka leaned forward in his seat, intrigued by the story.

"Yes, the day before the fire. I didn't see him well, mind you, or I would have called the police myself. I saw Rika coming up the street, back from a late class, and there was a shadowy figure about 15 feet behind her. At first I thought it was her shadow, but when she came inside, it stopped walking and tilted its head back to stare up at their apartment."

Hisoka noticed that Kinashita-san had stopped calling the shadow stalker 'him' and had started calling it 'it', he didn't think she realized this, but he was sure it wasn't a coincidence. It suggested that whoever the shadowy figure was, they had registered as more 'thing' than 'person' to her sub-conscious. "What happened then?" he asked.

"The phone rang," she said with a sigh, "and when I looked back, it was gone. 24 hours later Minoru-san was dead and Rika was fighting for her life." She let out another sigh, this one longer and sadder. "I was so relived when the hospital told me she was going to recover." She looked down at her hands. "When I finally got to talk to her, I told her the apartment was hers if she wanted it, but she said no; and I never saw her again."

Kinashita-san looked up, and unshed tears glittered in her eyes. "She came here, a young girl who had just lost her mother, and I never had any children of my own, and I used to think how wonderful it would have been if I'd had a daughter just like her." One tear ran down the lady's cheek. "I miss her so much sometimes."

Hisoka reached out to pat her hand, but pulled back, thinking better of the idea. Instead, he offered the only comfort he was capable of giving.

"I'm sure she misses you too."

**XXXXX**

Tsuzuki walked into the hotel room looking around anxiously for his partner. He and Rika were hours late, and Hisoka should be pacing the floor, ready to rip into him for taking so long; but the room was empty.

He heard the snick of the door as Rika pulled is shut behind her. She looked around with a faint frown on her face.

"Where's Hisoka-san?"

No Hisoka. Tsuzuki let his shoulders droop. He had wanted to see his partner.

The young waiter had not taken the news of his friends death well.

Tsuzuki had sat with him through his initial shock and grief, but then the man had begun to pepper him with questions, and quickly became angry when it became apparent that Tsuzuki didn't have any answers. The scene had become a fiasco, and Tsuzuki and Rika had been shown out of the restaurant by an angry manager while Totohome's friend shouted accusations, and all the customers glared after him like he was scum walking the face of the earth.

Which was not too far from how he felt.

He needed Hisoka. The youths innate calmness sooth him, calm him. Since Kyoto, Hisoka had become Tsuzuki's center; and with his calm logic and practicality he would help Tsuzuki put the events of the day into prospective, and he would feel better.

But Hisoka wasn't here.

Why hadn't he called?

Tsuzuki sank onto one of the beds, his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands, and let dejection wash over him. He felt arms wrap hesitantly around him, and he automatically stiffened.

"It's alright," a soft gentle voice whispered. "It's alright, I'm here."

It wasn't her words, or the bad day, Hisoka's absence, or even his own downwardly spiralling emotions. It was the feel of those arms around him; so familiar. Almost like the arms that he had missed for most of a century.

Tsuzuki cried.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It started out as a niggling feeling in the back of his mind, a sort of 'did I leave the dog out?' kind of feeling, and as it grew stronger and more persistent, Hisoka knew that it was time to leave. He stood up abruptly, surprising Kinshasa-san; she let out a startled "Oh!"

"I'm sorry," Hisoka apologised, "but I just realized that I'm late meeting my friends; your story was too fascinating, and I stayed too long." He favoured her with a small smile, which she returned.

"Well I… Oh!" Suddenly she was the one jumping to her feet. "I nearly forgot!" with that, she hurried from the room.

Hisoka stood where he was, barely resisting the urge to fidget. The niggling feeling was getting worse, accompanied by the growing understanding that something was wrong. He didn't know what, but something!

Thankfully, Kinashita-san was only gone for a few minutes; she returned carrying a cardboard box which she held out to Hisoka. "I don't get out much, it gets harder when you're my age, and sadly I lost track of Rika when she left the hospital, so if you see her, could you please give her this?"

"I'll do my best," Hisoka told her, accepting the box.

"Thank you." Kinashita-san looked relieved. "They're just some things that were recovered from the apartment after the fire. I thought she might like to have them back."

"You're very kind," Hisoka said, bowing his head to her. "Thank you for your time; and the cookies."

**XXXXX**

His anxiety level was almost through the roof by the time he made it back to the hotel.

Hisoka burst through the door and felt a part of himself immediately calm at the sight of his partner lying asleep across one of the beds.

Quietly he made his way to the bed and reached out to smooth the dark hair away from the man's face. He could still feel the echoes of emotional distress as Tsuzuki slept. There was a noise behind him, but even as he began to turn he heard Rika's voice.

"Oh, it's you."

Hisoka sighed in irritation. "What happened?" he asked, gesturing towards Tsuzuki.

"He had a hard day." Rika smirked at him. "So much for protecting your partner."

Hisoka fought to keep his expression neutral, he wanted Rika co-operative, he did not want to start a fight with her. "There are a couple of things I'd like to ask you."

Rika's smirk grew wider. "Oh really? Okay, shoot!" She moved to the little kitchenette area and took a seat at the table.

Hisoka moved to stand across from her. "What's your real name?"

"Murata Rika."

Hisoka frowned. He couldn't sense any deciet in her, but he couldn't sense any sincerity either. Or anything else for that matter, he would probably be able to sense more emotions from the table. "Did you know there was another Murata Rika who lived near here?" Hisoka reached into one of the folders and pulled out the picture of Murata Rika before the fire. He handed it to Rika. "Do you know her?"

Rika frowned at the photo, then directed the frown at him as she handed the picture back. "I've never seen her before."

He took the photo back and tucked it into the folder. "It seems that this Murata Rika is the girl that moved in with Totohome and summoned the demon," Hisoka said, watching Rika closely for any reaction. "Are you sure you didn't know her?"

Rika stared placidly for several long minutes. "You don't like me much, do you?"

Surprised, Hisoka rallied quickly. "Whether I like you or not has no bearing on the situation, we need to…"

"Admit it!" Rika interrupted. "You don't like me!"

"Rika-san…"

"Admit it!" Rika's voice was rising and becoming more shrill.

Hisoka circled the table, and catching Rika's arm, led her forcibly out of the hotel room. He closed the door so they would not disturb Tsuzuki, and let her go.

"The only thing that matters to me," he hissed angrily, "is solving this case so we can leave, and your life can go back to normal. If I like you, or don't like you makes no difference at all!"

"Fine!" Rika snapped back at him, "that's fine! I'm going to bed! You can get bent, or go to Hell for all I care!" With that she squared her shoulders, raised her head and stormed back into the hotel room.

Hisoka barely caught the door as she tried to slam it on him.

**XXXXX**

Awareness came abruptly.

He was awake; Hisoka blinked his eyes open in the darkness, in the middle of the night and he didn't know why.

Keeping his breathing even, he closed his eyes and listened carefully. He could hear Tsuzuki's soft breathing, a faint rattle of pipes in the distance, and the very quiet slide of cloth against cloth. He heard the creak of bedsprings, and his bed didn't shift, he knew that it was not Tsuzuki getting up.

Given his options; sleeping is a chair, sharing a bed with Rika, or squeezing into the bed with Tsuzuki, he had settled for option number 3. Besides, Tsuzuki was sprawled out across the foot of the bed, so Hisoka had plenty of room to curl up, and decent access to the blanket too.

Opening his eyes, Hisoka could barely make out the shape of Rika as she moved across the room. She reached the door and paused, looking back over her shoulder.

Hisoka shut his eyes and forced himself to stay relaxed. Focusing on his breathing, he listened to the slight sound of her footsteps as she slipped out of the room.

The moment Hisoka heard the door click shut behind her, he was on his feet following. He trailed her silently through the hotel and out the front doors where she stopped under a large oak.

Hisoka slipped behind the hotels large sign, where he could watch without being seen. Maybe she couldn't sleep and had just come out for a breath of fresh air, he wouldn't interrupt her, but he would keep an eye on her. After all, they still didn't know where the demon was.

It was as if the thought of it brought the thing into existence. A loud, savage growling, and suddenly it was there, tearing towards the girl.

Hisoka jerked, prepared to move out to intercept the demon when he noticed Rika's reaction.

Or rather, Rika's lack of reaction.

She stood unafraid, her posture relaxed as the demon bore down on her. It stopped inches in front of her, panting.

Hisoka watched amazed as she reached up and scratched it's head, as if it were a large, ugly dog.

"Almost everything is going according to plan," she muttered to the demon. "Tomorrow you'll have to try again, and make sure it's convincing!"

The demon growled in acknowledgement, and then turned and trotted away, disappearing into the night.

Frozen behind the sign, Hisoka was lost in waves of indecision. What was Rika doing? Should he get Tsuzuki? What was her plan? He wanted to get Tsuzuki and himself out of there, but what would Rika do if they lost track of her?

Rika whirled abruptly, glaring straight at him. "Nosy little shinigami!" she hissed, her eyes glowing red in the dark, "I knew you didn't like me!"

…And Hisoka shot up in his bed, sweat drenched, his hands fisted in the blankets. He shook his head to clear it, breathing hard.

"'Soka?"

Tsuzuki had risen up on one elbow and was blinking at him groggily.

Hisoka's eyes shot over to the other bed.

Rika was lying curled up in her blankets, her breathing deep and even, fast asleep.

A dream?

Nightmare?

Vision?

What the Hell?

"Hisoka? Are you okay?" Tsuzuki's voice was more alert now, concerned.

Hisoka took a deep breath and reached for calm as he turned back to his partner. "Yeah," he frowned when his voice came out higher than he intended. He cleared his throat. "Bad dream."

"When did you get in?" Tsuzuki asked.

Hisoka gave him an intense look. "Probably about 10 minutes after you fell asleep. I felt you all the way across town. You wanna talk about it?"

"M'be in the morning." Tsuzuki said, yawning. He streached, pulling himself more fully onto the bed and settled down with this head resting just above Hisoka's knee.

"T-Tsuzuki!" Hisoka sputtered, but the violet-eyed man had already dropped back to sleep. With a sigh of irritation, Hisoka settled back down into the bed, careful not to jar Tsuzuki's head. Once comfortable, he turned his head and watched Rika sleep until morning.


End file.
